1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to extensible artificial leather and a method for making the same.
2. Related Prior Art
A lot of artificial leather has been produced and used in balls, gloves, clothes, furniture, sports gear and the like. When used in sports shoes and sportswear where comfort is emphasized, extensible cloth with excellent elasticity and extensibility is advantageously used to make the artificial leather. The term “extensible cloth” is used to refer to cloth made with T-extensibility of 50% to 300% and Y-extensibility of 100% to 400%.
Artificial leather is conventionally made by wet processes. Fibers of Nylon and polyethylene terephthalate are made into non-woven cloth by needle bonding. The non-woven cloth is used as a substrate. The substrate is submerged in a solvent-type polyurethane resin compound. After curing, it is coated with a solvent-type polyurethane resin by a wet coating machine. After curing, washing and drying, a middle layer with tiny cells is formed on the substrate so that a semi-product of the artificial leather is made. Then, in a dry adhesive process, polyurethane resin is coated on the substrate and ground or pressed so that the artificial leather is made with good integrity, softness, feel and touch.
The substrate may be extensible cloth instead of the non-woven cloth in a process similar to the foregoing process. The extensible cloth, which includes fibers of polyethylene terephthalate, is submerged in a solvent-type polyurethane resin. The substrate is coated with a solvent-type polyurethane resin in a wet coating machine. After curing, washing and drying, a middle layer with tiny cells is formed on the substrate of extensible cloth. Grinding or pressing is used to make the extensible artificial leather.
The artificial leather made of the non-woven cloth in the wet process is excellent in the strength against peeling, abrasion and dissolution. However, the artificial leather made of the extensible cloth in the wet process includes poor strength against peeling (or peel strength) of 0.7 to 1.7 kg/cm. Its strength against abrasion and dissolution is poor, too. The strength against peeling, abrasion and dissolution is poor, since the extensible cloth sticks poorly to the solvent-type polyurethane resin. Other physical properties of the artificial leather are not stable, since the wet processes are long. Therefore, the quality of the artificial leather is often unstable, and the finishing of the same is often overdue.
The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in the prior art.